There’s been public condemnation for the authorities’ handling of the criminal matters involving the two sons of Minister Edmond Castro. Prior to being busted in Orange Walk with over $6,000 in contraband beer last Friday, the Castro boys, Jafari and Wasani, were held under detention at the Belize City Police precinct for traffic violations and allegedly assaulting a Police officer. The duo was eventually released, and since then there has been credible indications that high-level intervention stopped the laying of charges on the Minister’s sons. This has been flatly denied by Assistant Commissioner of Police Chester Williams and today Prime Minister Dean Barrow chipped in, opining that the entire affair is simply a personal family affair for the Minister.

Rt. Honourable Dean Barrow - Prime Minister of Belize

“But I don’t see how this is in any wise a political matter, minister Castro sons were not involved in any incidence that had to do with any abuse of government property, I saw the ages of these two young men, these are adults, I don’t see that minister Castro be expected to answer for the behaviour of these adult children and that’s where I would leave it I know that, in fact, he certainly clearly would rather than these incidents not happened but how he treats with that is a family matter and I don’t think that it is my place to get into that at all at all.”

The PM was also asked about the evidence that the Police officers were preparing to lay charges on Jafari and Wasani Castro, as leaked documents have shown. The PM responded that while such may have been the case, the alleged settlement reached between the Castro’s and the cop was in his words, for the greater good.

Rt. Honourable Dean Barrow - Prime Minister of Belize

“Well I don’t know enough to speak authoritatively on that I saw what ACP Williams said, I heard what Herbert Panton said and he seems to be making a lot of sense when he was talking about difference between a charge sheet and a Court Book and making the case that charges were never laid my limited understanding which says that the police involve may have acted with more force in the circumstances than was required, if that is so and as a consequence the officers involved or the particular officer who was going to do the charging decided that lets work this out I won’t charge and in turn these people won’t sue me or the department or government for any kind of abuse and I think that’s all to the good again it wasn’t as though the young men were involved in the commission of some absolutely some serious crime unfortunate incident unfortunate set of circumstance but if they worked it out I think that’s fine.”